Faces of Battle
by PPP SSC
Summary: The battle right before Ashera turned the world to stone was experienced by many. The first and second impressions of the battle told by thirteen characters.
1. Ike

Faces of Battle

My name is Ike and I was present at the battle that ruined everything.

Okay, first off, I've gotta say that I absolutely _despise _fighting old friends. Secondly, I want to make it abundantly clear that it was never my intention to overflow chaos.

This woman, Micaiah, was nuts. Like, totally nuts. There was no other explanation for her behavior. What she was doing was not only racist and suicidal, but also fruitless because no matter who won the battle everything would end badly.

I might just be a little angry because as soon as the battle ended, everyone except for my friends turned into stone. And yes, my friends do include parts of Micaiah's army.

I suppose Sothe likes her, so she can't be all bad. And Zihark was fighting with her… which makes me shake my head shamefully to this day. I don't care if he was being loyal to Micaiah. It is _never _okay to go after an _entire race. _Or in this case, several.

In fact, I'm glad that everyone turned into stone. No, I shouldn't put it like that. That's not what I mean at all. It was terrible that everyone was rendered helpless and motionless. But at least it put an end to the most pointless fight I have ever been a part of.

It was terrible. I was scared that something would happen to the many people I considered family. I was especially concerned about my little sister, who appeared to get sick on the battlefield. Something about her is like me except without as much anger and chaos.

I worried about triggering unhappy memories for my dearest friend. I knew he went through hell, and this battle was hell again. The fact that he was in charge of directing the whole thing made it even worse.

But more important than any of that, I feared that either one of them, or anyone else, would not come out alive. We're empathetic and kind. Our group was holding back considerably. None of us wanted to hurt the enemies who used to be our friends.

None of us. Even those of us who claim not to care about each other. Even those of us who would not hesitate to cut down an enemy to laguz.

But… I could tell that they weren't holding back. Zihark and someone who I believe was Brom's daughter were kind enough not to attack certain people at all. But everyone else… Micaiah and the others… didn't hold back anything.

Not even Sothe.

Not that I blame him. If he knows that we can hurt him—which he does from fighting alongside us before—he should try his hardest to fight us back. But, you know, it still hurts.

My name is Ike, and maybe I have been premature in my assessment. It's entirely possible that this battle didn't ruin everything. True, it did almost end the world, but it didn't. We were left behind to stop it. And maybe it was our willingness to accept the futility of the battle that left us behind.

It's undeniable that the battle was hard, but perhaps it was just one of the road bumps that lead to the desired destination. I mean, if Soren didn't go through hell earlier we would never have met. And if we didn't go through hell this time, Micaiah may never have learned to trust me.


	2. Sigrun

My name is Sigrun and in all my years of serving the holy throne, I have never once experienced a battle of this magnitude.

Perhaps it was because during the Mad King's War I was staying behind to guard the apostle, but I have discussed it at length with Tanith and she insists that it really was entirely new. I suppose that it might just be because everyone was trying to fight at once.

There was something about Micaiah that seemed so familiar, so normal to me. But I couldn't figure out what it was. It certainly wasn't her trying to charge head-on against almost every country in the world and… Ike, with whom she should know does not merit messing.

The battle was so unclear. So foggy; I could not stand it, myself. I was terrified that something bad would happen to me. Not because I fear dying, but because I fear leaving behind the apostle. I knew I should have felt reassured. The Greil Mercenaries were with me, protecting me.

And at the same time, every one of them was fighting with strong amounts of hesitation. I had no idea why. They said that they didn't want to hurt their old friends. I understand that, and still, I know that those who are traitors are just that… traitors. Members of the Holy Guard and the senators sometimes cavorted, but whenever the senators proved to be filthy creatures, we would forget everything about it.

Of course, the mercenary lifestyle is quite different than that of the Holy Guard. I heard from Tanith that to them, every casualty is devastating; that there isn't any such thing as an "expendable troop". So if it feels so wrong and terrifying to me, it must feel ten times as awful for them.

The Holy Guard has a different issue; we always seem too careless about our troops. Tanith tells me that her friend Oscar had problems with this very thing. Lives are lives. Perhaps that's why everyone around me hesitated so much to kill their old friends who had switched sides.

But then, why… the other team was little more than a band of mercenaries either. And they hesitated less. Perhaps it was because they knew that the more hesitation they brought forth, the more likely it was that even a slight miscalculation from the other side could cause their death.

Or, given that the Greil Mercenaries might not be as merciful as they were; at least in the minds of their opponents, the defense fighting would have not to be held back or else the Daeins would be in constant fear that the Greil Mercenaries could kill them.

Not only that, but mercenary fighting is much more closely watched than army fighting. People are watched closely. Their movements; their powers; anyone who fought alongside Ike and the others in the first war must've picked up on the fact that they are dangerous foes. They have every reason to believe that Ike and the others must kill them.

My name is Sigrun, and actually, the magnitude of the war wasn't the thing about it that was the most fascinating. On the contrary, the most fascinating thing was actually the fact that the mercenary fighters cared more about sparing each other and themselves than they did about the magnitude itself.


	3. Ranulf

My name is Ranulf, and I think that the entire battle seemed like a backwards step.

I know how the apostle feels about this issue; after all, her guards had been working for us. Why would Daein be helping those who betrayed Begnion? I mean, I suppose that I would understand if it was the apostle who decided to rule them with an iron fist.

But it wasn't. What Daein was doing was supporting the part of Begnion that went against the apostle's wishes, and treated them like dirt.

I thought Daein was supposed to have regained its sanity after Ashnard. This is what I thought. But maybe I'm wrong.

Ike seems to think I'm wrong about a lot of things. He thinks it's stupid that I prioritize diplomacy over self-defense. He thinks that it's silly that we even have a "Laguz Alliance" when we're hiring beorc to help us, when we could just call it the "Gallia-Phoenicis-and-sometimes-Kilvas-if-they-feel-like-it" alliance. Okay, to be honest, that name was not suggested by Ike and he'd probably roll his eyes if I mentioned it in his presence just because of its absurd length.

But regardless of whether or not Ike thinks I'm wrong a lot, I think he agrees with me here. He knows that Daein should have regained its sanity after Ashnard died. He couldn't think that anyone, even Ashnard's son, would be this insane.

But it looks like it wasn't Ashnard's son that was insane after all; instead it was a peasant girl who reached high status through merit. Now, to be honest, this is the sort of thing Ike wanted all along. He was against birth destining your entire life.

But here's my point: maybe for once _Ike _was wrong. I realize that this is a controversial opinion, but I don't think that giving people the freedom to make it far is really better than birth. Just leaders will be just, and insane ones will be insane. It doesn't matter.

It should matter. It would matter if people like Ike and me were always in charge of selection. It could matter if people weren't prone to making regrettable decisions. It's always easy to say that only beorc or only laguz were prone to these mistakes, depending on which you weren't. Or only peasants or only nobles, depending on which you weren't. Or only hawks or only ravens, depending on which you weren't. But none of those things were true.

Every race, every class, every tribe… is prone to bias, to stereotyping, to conformity, and to ignorance. The only way that we can avoid it has little to do with whether leaders are born or they're chosen. Instead, I believe that the biggest culprit is that even when every race, every class, every tribe, is created equal, individuals are different.

There are people like Ike who are naturally born mediators. There are people like me who are natural born allies. There are people like Soren who can plan; like Skrimir who can confront; and sadly, like Micaiah who can sway.

Objectively, logically, she's not the best leader. But subjectively, maybe she is.

My name is Ranulf and I do think this battle was not a step forward, but perhaps I was too harsh. Was it really a step backwards? Ike and I should know better than anyone else that one person's opinions cannot truly represent the world, and honestly, I believe that Micaiah's fight doesn't mean anything for the world at large.


	4. Micaiah

My name is Micaiah and I regret nothing.

Even though what ended up happening was horrible, it was reparable. The most important thing is that, at the time, I was certain that doing what I was told to do would help Daein. That was the most imperative. That's what Ike didn't understand.

He could never understand. As a mercenary—which is what he is, at heart, regardless of how powerful he becomes—he will never understand patriotism. Being loyal to one country has never been his plan. He would willingly let die an entire country in order to protect the rest of the world.

Even if that country were Crimea, I'm sure of it.

Sothe tries to tell me I'm crazy when I bring it up. He says that Ike just happens to have different loyalties than mine. I don't agree. Except for maybe the ten or so people that are officially in his company, I don't think he would be terribly loyal to anyone, unless protecting them had a chance of protecting the world.

Okay, so the more I think about this, the worse my side sounds. But trust me, it isn't a bad side. In fact, it's quite a good side, because at least I _have _loyalties. Ike on the other hand…

No, I shouldn't be justifying my behavior. I shouldn't have to. What I did was something that I thought was right at the time, to prevent Daein from dying. Taking innocent lives of Gallians, Crimeans, whatever… it wasn't ever what I was trying to do. But due to the fogging of my clairvoyance, I was not able to tell that I was doing so either.

And it's true that Ike has a right to fight those of us who go against his worldview. Perhaps he should know why. Perhaps if I told him why, he would have stopped trying to kill me. To him, what I was doing must have seemed just as wrong as what he does seems to me.

It was dangerous. Yes. I know this. It was risky. Yes. I know this also. Ike believes that he's so great and strong and that I'm as weak as all get out. And you know what, maybe he's right. But if so, I don't care.

Daein is what always did and always will matter to me.

My name is Micaiah and I admit to being wrong. I do regret several things. I regret not telling Ike. I regret causing something that I potentially could have avoided. I regret not reading the very existence of fogginess as an omen.

I regret following the blood pact instead of telling Ike what was happening so he could help us end it.

But I do not, and will not, ever regret having the patriotism to protect Daein, whether it was right or wrong.


	5. Zihark

My name is Zihark and this is the battle that proves, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I am a giant hypocrite.

I knew Micaiah had her heart in the right place. Truly, I did. Yet, there was absolutely no way I could justify what I was doing. I can't fight those people. The people I care about.

I remembered why I joined up with Ike in the first place. He agreed with me that the laguz needed to be protected. That's what I said, of course, but… fighting on Micaiah's side left a bad taste in my mouth. She was a lovely girl and her band was likeable. But I saw Ilyana on the other side.

Ilyana was grating at times, but never once deserved to fight me in the war. I saw her pull out a spell book and attempt to attack me with it. I could not, would not, counterattack. I would fight the Greil Mercenaries if I had to, but not my closest friends.

It was hell, worrying that Ike would attack me, and then I would be done for. But instead, something entirely different happened. Brom asked me to join. I couldn't refuse. This was the team I belonged on from the start.

But here I was, betraying one army. Again. I'm beginning to think I have some sort of backstabbing disorder. First, I betrayed a group of vigilantes to join Ike. Then I betrayed the laguz to fight with Micaiah's army, and now I'm betraying Micaiah to join up with Ike and the laguz again.

I just… I just can't stick by one group. Principles are more important than patriotism. For that matter, that's probably why I became a mercenary in the first place. Mercenaries can stick to principles. It's a horrid stereotype that mercenaries have no principles whatsoever and just do anything for money.

In fact, it's just the opposite. We can choose which side seems the most enticing to us. We're freelance, so we don't have to compromise. There's never a time where what I'm doing doesn't seem right. Except for when people tell me to change sides.

I know that their side is better. But the other side was still good…I mean, unless I was originally joining them with the _intention _of leaving them. There's no denying that both Ike and Micaiah are kind leaders who care about the people in their armies, and in their lives. War is terrible. It brings out the worst in all of us.

My name is Zihark, and I think that perhaps, the battle did not make me a hypocrite. It's quite possible that what it truly meant instead is that everyone shows inconsistencies. Even those of us who try the hardest to stay true to our convictions.

When the conviction is "doing what's right," the choice between betrayal and being on the wrong side forces us into a poor choice. But what it also does is give us a good choice. We can be loyal or we can aim for the side we agree with.

Either way, I should know that this battle would have given hard-pressed choices to anyone, and that what I suffered was not my problem alone.


	6. Ilyana

My name is Ilyana and it's times like this I feel like a traitor.

Well, it's not like there's much I could have done to not feel like a traitor. Ike was the best general I ever had, and it's true that more of the people on this side are people I know. Even the people I don't know, like Heather, are kind to me and like to give me food. But, unfortunately, Zihark… my dearest friend… is fighting for the other side.

He shouldn't be! Not my Zihark! The Zihark I know would never condone fighting against the laguz alliance. To him, laguz need to be protected. I can't deny that the Zihark I know would rather be a traitor than fight the Laguz Alliance.

But for some reason, I didn't feel comfortable enough to tell him to join our group. I thought maybe attempting to attack him with magic would make him switch sides, but all it did was annoy him. He didn't fight back, which I was thankful for. But I suppose I should have thought of talking to him like Brom did.

Once I was fighting on the same side as Zihark again, everything felt right. Even though he and I had gone to Daein, our hearts were of a mercenary and a traveling mage; neither of us felt national loyalty. We instead were only principled.

This battle… it reminded me of the time in Gallia where I was forced to join the Daein army or be executed. Only this time it was me on the right side and my friends were on the wrong side. On the other hand, it might not have been the most appropriate to call it the "wrong side" since it too was led by a friend.

I don't know what got into her. She seemed so friendly earlier. Honestly, I don't know why there were any laguz on her team at all. Why would a laguz fight the Laguz Alliance? Although, for some reason, it was not that that bothered me quite so much as Zihark fighting against them.

It's probably because it's personal. Zihark is someone that I know personally. He's exactly the kind of guy that wouldn't want to cause any harm: exactly the kind of guy to put ideology over practicality. Take the way he treats me for example; he knows that I'm always hungry so he can't in good conscience deny me food. On the other hand, he knows exactly the… less than savory… oh… umm… not so sweet… hmm… "undesired" methods I sometimes employ to get the food.

His brain says that no possible good can come of feeding me, but his heart disagrees. So he feeds me anyway. That is kind of similar to the situation he must have felt today. I know that I felt like a traitor because I knew that Zihark was on the other side.

The side that I was on no earlier than the beginning of the year.

But there was a difference. _Then _I was fighting against Begnion for the sake of Daein; and now they were fighting with Begnion despite Daein.

When Zihark switched, all became clear.

My name is Ilyana and "traitor" might not have been the right word to describe me; even though I was fighting against my previous side, I was always trying to get the most like-minded of the bunch—Zihark—to rejoin our team anyway. So maybe in reality, what I really was was an idealist.


	7. Boyd

My name is Boyd and this was one of those times I really didn't know what to do.

I mean, I'm a loyal mercenary and I know that Ike and I were close. I know that he trusted me at least somewhat with his sister. But when she got sick on the battlefield, I had no idea what to do. I was afraid she might have died then and there.

I was afraid that if she did that, then I would be blamed for it. I really didn't want to incur the wrath of Ike, but I think there was something different that was keeping me concerned for her. I really like her. I might even go so far as to say that I love her.

In the first war we kind of had a strained relationship, and she always made fun of me. But now… we were so close… and I had no idea what to do. I am not a man of medicinal knowledge. On the battlefield, my mantra is take as many hits as possible until Rhys sighs of annoyance that I got that badly hurt again.

And you'd think that spending all of these years living with Rhys would have brought me akin to the various diseases that Mist could have gotten. But it didn't. I didn't even pay attention to what he had that one time he was bedridden for a month. And I certainly didn't want anything like that to happen to Mist.

I mean, yeah, I know, Titania tells me that anything Rhys lives through must be relatively safe, but there were certain moments when he was on the _brink _of death, and Mist was always there to heal his ailments. But now I was concerned that even if I took her to Rhys it might be too late. Or worse…

Tending to the sick usually has to give precedence to tending to the lethally wounded. Rhys was probably busy as hell, and even if Soren wasn't, I couldn't exactly ask him to heal Mist because, at best, he'd think I was overreacting, and at worst, he would completely ignore me.

However, there was one person I knew that even he would listen to; one person who probably was most likely to know exactly what was wrong with Mist; and that one person was Ike. So I did the only thing I thought I could do. I told Ike that something was wrong with Mist. I was throwing everything away in that moment.

I was so certain that he would blame me for it. I didn't want it to be the case, but I thought that there was no way around it. He would blame me for it, and I would lose some pay, or worse—be fired! I could handle all of that.

All that mattered to me in that moment was Mist's well-being. And so I took her to Ike.

And Ike knew that I had done the right thing. He cared for Mist, and so did I. More importantly than anything, Ike didn't think that Mist's ailment was my fault. He also didn't think it was fatal. As it turns out, it wasn't fatal. And Mist was very healthy after everyone else turned into stone. That girl's constitution must either be through the roof or upside-down.

My name is Boyd, and I did know what to do. I knew that I was supposed to let Ike examine Mist. I just didn't know that I knew what to do.


	8. Brom

My name is Brom and this is the battle that reminded me why I hate war so much.

Not only was I fighting a lot of people who to me just seemed like children, but my friend Zihark, and even my own daughter were fighting on the other side. I couldn't bring myself to hurt them. Luckily, it looked like they got the message and they didn't want to hurt me.

I saw Ilyana trying to hurt Zihark. This was an emergency that I had to fix. I pleaded with Zihark to come join our side. He did it without a moment's hesitation. Meg was the same way. Family and friendship ties that bind are what bring us together.

But for all those friendship and family ties they had with me, didn't they also have one with the Greil Mercenaries in general? I mean, I know that Meg hasn't met them before. But Zihark did, and he knew very much the same way I did what the right side was.

Come to think of it, he was a laguz rights activist, wasn't he? Why would he be fighting against us in the first place? Even if we _weren't _his old friends. Some of his friends obviously weren't as forgiving as I was, but I was sure that I could convince Zihark to come back to our side, but I thought it would take a lot more effort from my end than it ended up taking. He came back almost immediately, or so it seemed.

It's weird. War time is a terrifying time, but at the same time… it's the time that your true friends show themselves. I mean, I know that I can trust Zihark. But how much do I know that during peace time? He could be going around behind my back telling everyone my dirty secrets; spreading nasty rumors about me.

Not that Zihark would. He's far too honest. But at the same time, he's really clever. He could—not that he would—easily trick me. But the point is that in this moment, in the moment of war, when I ask him to join up with us instead, he says yes.

That says wonders for our friendships. I understand that I'm far too friendly sometimes, and he is a good pal, but he seemed a bit upset that I betrothed him to Meg without his consent. Honestly, I know he tells me that he's "damaged" and "can't love anymore" and that I really shouldn't "force a sword-point wedding" if I consider him a friend.

But the question is… would that explanation be, in and of itself, enough punishment for me? If so, Zihark's a true friend. And the point is that he never wanted to hurt me. Even when I absent-mindedly ignored his wishes—which I promise not to do again—he forgave me. And he stuck with me when I told him to.

My name is Brom and maybe I was a bit premature. While violence and conflict and death are all terrible things, I am thankful for there being a time of any sort where I can tell that people are truly my friends.


	9. Sothe

My name is Sothe and I to this day think Micaiah made a mistake igniting this battle.

I love her. With all my heart.

But I cannot excuse that stupidity.

I know she loves Daein. I understand that. But attacking Ike? Doesn't she remember how he cut through King Ashnard like butter? I mean, you'd think she would have given up after the first time he almost killed her. Or the second time.

And it's clear that he didn't want to be fighting us either. All Micaiah had to say was why she was fighting the laguz alliance, and maybe then Ike would have understood; they could have humored us. We could have had small fights that wouldn't actually do any long-term damage. Or maybe we couldn't have.

I trust that Ike would never want to hurt me or Zihark or Jill or any of us really, if we had actually told him what was going on. But what I can't trust is that we could fool the blood pact.

There's no way that something so vile as a blood pact could be fooled by something as simple as a play fight. There's no way that the blood pact couldn't somehow sense the hostility, or lack thereof, between us. Just as Micaiah always would.

That's something I don't get though.

Micaiah could never see the outcomes of the battles where it mattered the most. In those fights where you don't actually want either side to suffer casualties and prefer it if the battles just stop. It was in those moments when Micaiah had no clear vision.

I don't know whether it was just a prank that her goddess played on her. I mean, I honestly wouldn't put it past Yune to do something like that. Let's just make the most risky battles the only ones where she can't tell they're bad ideas.

And that's why she probably should have learned not to go in head-first. She knew the battles were unknown and not knowable. So why would she…

Actually, perhaps it does make sense to Micaiah. Maybe the only reason it makes no sense to me is because I don't have clairvoyant powers. I mean, I give her a hard time when her powers aren't working, but I have to remember that, unlike me, she actually _has _powers. I don't exactly have the right to complain when they don't work.

On the other hand… she had to have known that Ike was a dangerous opponent _anyway. _But perhaps, she expected her powers to come to the forefront exactly when she needed them. I suppose I can't blame her for thinking that way. She's an idealist. She's not like me. Her thoughts aren't bleak and desperate. Hers are hopeful; she knows that things will happen for the better.

My name is Sothe and maybe I shouldn't think that Micaiah made a mistake in igniting this battle. From my perspective, it seemed wrong. But she's not me. And I do know that if everything she did, she waited for my go ahead for, many of our accomplishments would not have happened. I was wary of her becoming a Daein general, and even now I am grateful to her for removing the occupation.

Perhaps even this event has a silver lining that I simply cannot see.


	10. Soren

My name is Soren and I must say I can't see the benefit.

I knew that Ike was often reckless in the battles, but he always had a reason for doing what he was doing. I'm not saying that Micaiah was fighting us and the Laguz Alliance for fun. Oh, no. What I'm saying is that she had no reason at all that couldn't be contradicted.

By fighting against, not to brag, the most successful and famous mercenary band in the world, and a huge coalition of multiple countries of the race which prides itself on being better than beorc, with just a tiny army? It's stupid.

Of course, then again, that's exactly what I thought when we were fighting against Daein the first time and we won. Magnificently. But it was exactly that prediction that proves I'm right now. I was proven wrong _then _because Ike proved to be a better general than even someone with as much faith in him as I have could not have expected.

That… no one could hope to match. Especially not some girl that everyone loves because she happens to have healing powers that don't even do much for the people who need it the most. I want to scream, _don't listen to her! She's a liar and a fake! _But I can't do that, because, part of me honestly cannot believe that.

I don't want to believe that she is actually this stupid, this self-centered, this terrifyingly manipulative _unwittingly. _But I just can't help it. I can sense in her eyes that she doesn't want to hurt us. So why? Why does she try?

There are a few reasons I can think of, but I shoot them all down immediately. Is it because she wants to protect Daein? Ostensibly. But how does rushing Daein soldiers into the Greil Mercenaries' clutches constitute protecting them? I understand that she might think that there's less of a chance that Daein will die if she tries fighting. But to be honest, fighting us… is a titular gamble. By that I mean, the outcome is more certain than she could realize.

Is it because she wants to hurt laguz? I could understand resentment; the kind that I felt, and that Stefan felt as well… but out-and-out persecution? There's no reason why we should give them the benefit. Even if it was a revenge scheme, the best course of action would be not to talk to them.

Attacking Ike can only have two possible outcomes: no change and worse change. The no change comes if you surrender quickly. Ike is a very merciful man. He would never hurt anyone who was willing to surrender. The problem arises when people refuse to stop being stubborn.

I know that as both a stubborn person and the biggest supporter of a stubborn person I shouldn't really be complaining, but in certain situations you have to know when to hold back. And Micaiah wasn't a warrior nor a general. She wasn't the kind of person who would be content to charge headlong into dangerous battles because she knew she could survive it. She's a magic user. Like me. Vulnerable; allegedly clever.

I am more understanding and aware of her situation than anyone else here, and I cannot see how she failed to see everything through.

My name is Soren and, regardless of the reasons that ostensibly kept her going, I stand by what I said. I simply can't see the benefit.


	11. Leanne

My name is Leanne and this battle was a battle I don't remember.

The sky was foggy. Not foggy because of clouds, but foggy because of danger. Everyone was fighting, even though they should have been friends. It worried me so; I had to go hide. In the mysterious room I fell. I collapsed completely. I couldn't remember much after that.

What I do remember was someone whispering to me, "It'll be okay soon."

I listened to the voice intently. I saw a figure. He was someone tall, and very beautiful. Much like my brother, only with dark hair and wings. "The world will be saved," he said.

I reached out to touch his hand, and he vanished. Scared and alone, I searched for everyone. I cried out Naesala's name. He didn't answer. I couldn't find him anywhere. I felt like I was in a void. All around me it was white. I blended into the background perfectly. I sat down and began to cry, when the figure returned.

"It's alright," the figure said, "You and all your kind will be avenged. I bring you my apocalypse." He swirled away.

I saw a world. It was empty except for Naesala, Reyson, Tibarn, Rafiel, our father, and me. "This is the world you want," the figure said.

I tried to object. I tried to protest. But the figure kept telling me that's what I wanted. "This is heaven. The place where those you and your loved ones go."

Then I saw a woman; she was tall and daunting. She looked nothing like anyone I had ever seen. "Worry not, little heron, for thou hast not misbehaved."

I wanted to scream. I cried out Naesala's name again. He didn't listen. Only this time, I don't think that was his fault. I'm fairly certain that he couldn't even hear me.

When I woke up, only the people I knew the best were still moving. Could this dream possibly have been a prediction? I was scared. But I knew through it all that the figure was wrong. This isn't the world I wanted. I knew that it wasn't the world I wanted.

What I learned that day was that, no matter what other people may have told me, there's only one life for me and that's the life where everyone is safe. I don't care if my family or my beloved are still alive; if the rest of the world is gone and in ruins it was not for the best.

This figure didn't seem evil. He seemed… confused. He wanted the world to be safe for him to live in. I can understand that; our common people suddenly stopped being common. He was a commoner, or so it appeared. His wings were not white; but he was clearly a heron.

My name is Leanne and maybe there are parts of the battle that I _do _remember. What I remember may have been a vision or it may have been reality. Either way, it was enough that it told me exactly what was right and what was wrong.

When the world was saved, I was so happy. Regardless of what the figure thought, I couldn't be happy with Naesala in the world without everyone. I couldn't even be happy with Naesala and my brothers in a world without everyone.


	12. Mist

My name is Mist and it was then I felt sick.

I mean, I had been in many battles as a mercenary. I had even been in a major war before, but it was never like this. My brother was constantly trying to tell me that everything would only get worse from there.

Was it fear? I don't think so. Ike is an amazing general. Soren is the smartest strategist in the world. We had the apostle on our side. We had Tibarn and all of Gallia on our side. We had a numbers advantage. Logically, the battle was a shoo-in for us.

Could it have been sorrow? Possibly. The smell of blood in the air… the fact that old friends were fighting against us…and yet, no one I truly cared for with more than a casual empathy died. Ike and the others did an excellent job of holding back in order not to hurt the enemies.

Maybe it was rage! I mean, I know I'm supposed to have more order than chaos within myself. But surely, as a relative of Greil and of Ike, I must have some sort of anger issues. And of course, when the fighting which I hoped would only get better instead got worse, that would be the tipping point for me.

Or possibly… disappointment. Just because I knew that fighting old friends was no one's fault alone; I couldn't help but notice that if they had just chosen not to fight for a cause that they should have known better than to support, maybe I wouldn't have had the chance to fight them.

Maybe it could have just been disgust. The fumes of dead bodies, fresh blood, sweat… they are enough to just nauseate someone by themselves. But together… combined with the view of people being injured…

But the point wasn't what made me sick… the point was that I was sick. And no one seemed to notice. Even Ike was too busy with the fight to check up on me. But I did notice someone come to check on me. His arms felt like Ike's, but bigger. But when I heard his voice I knew exactly who it was. It was Boyd.

Boyd decided to tell Ike what had happened, and for that I was thankful. I was thankful that both of them kept their eyes on me. I was thankful that when the air cleared, Ike and Boyd both tried to keep calm. It was so weird. To me, it felt natural to be calm when there was no chaos.

It must have been hell for them.

Ike and Boyd are used to chaos. They're natural-born fighters. I'm not. What matters to Ike first and foremost is justice; to Boyd, retribution. Neither one of them wanted the others they perceive as good to be immobilized. To them, this clearing of the air must have put on even more stress.

Despite my initial feeling that I was calm, the truth is, stress is contagious. And as my brother and Boyd became more stressful, so did I. I may not have felt as sick as I did during the battle itself. But I did feel sick.

My name is Mist and perhaps I spoke too soon; even when the battle was over, my illness didn't go away until much later; when Ike and the others had saved the world.


	13. Kurthnaga

My name is Kurthnaga and I will never forgive myself for what I did that day.

At the time, it seemed right. I didn't want anything bad to happen to my sister's friends...and my nephew. And there can be no problem with protecting those who love you.

But, had I but known… had I known that if I didn't fight… I could have… I could have stopped it all. My father always wanted to remain neutral. It was something I never understood. He was an isolationist. I did not and still do not approve of that foreign policy. I think that everyone should be able to fight in wars that are dangerous to them and their kin.

My brother had been taken hostage by King Ashnard. Almedha had loved him. My nephew had business in Daein. I didn't think that our foreign policy could last much longer given the circumstances. My father thought it was always the safest.

It's entirely possible that it was. If nothing else, it certainly prevented Ashera and Yune from awakening… which kept the world alive. My father was so conservative… not even Begnion was that set in the old ways.

I knew that what I was doing was defiant. At the time, I didn't care. What mattered more: my father's ideal or my sister's reality? I thought that, most certainly, it was my sister's reality. But the question is… was this reality really worth it?

I know that we were supposed to keep Pelleas safe, but could the rest of Daein really have been enough to make up for the loss of Goldoan culture? At the time, I thought it would.

But maybe that's because, at the time, I wanted to rid Goldoa of its conservatism. I mean, I didn't want to turn it into another Phoenicis or anything; but I thought maybe I could enlighten us at least to the level of Kilvas or Daein.

Perhaps that's why I thought Daein's cause was right. I was just desperate to change the way my father did things. Any change would be a good change.

Yet, no matter how much I tried, I knew that I couldn't, in good conscience, fight in a war. My father always told me as I grew up, "Kurthnaga, one day you'll be asked to fight in a war. If you are, you must adamantly refuse." If he found out that not only was I not adamant, I didn't even refuse, he would disown me.

But was that really so bad? In that moment, my father disowning me didn't seem so bad. After all, why would I be stuck in his outdated ways? It shouldn't matter if he disowns me, right? In fact, for a brief and regrettable period of time, I considered disowning him myself.

Outdated… ultra-conservative… I knew that I had a right. But deep down, I knew that what I was truly doing was trying to justify my own behavior. And once I had my own father against me in the war, his stance was truly shown. They weren't just _the_ ways; they were _his _ways. He was as interested in keeping his as I was in mine.

And I could tell that he still loved me. In this moment. He didn't even try to fight me.

My name is Kurthnaga, and I hope that one day I'll be able to forgive myself for the mistakes I made that day. But that day is not today.


End file.
